Do you Quarantine Your Fish?

[Blackice615]

I currently do not but understand the benefits to quarantining. I have 4 fish currently for about a year or so and want to add another but am a little hesitant too because of the risk. I’m sure it will be half do half don’t or pretty close. I’ve been pretty lucky but it only takes one to wipe out a Dt so thats why I haven’t gotten another fish yet. I think qt puts extra stress on fish that’s why I haven’t set one up, but I realize also at least in qt if they are sick only they die instead of dropping them in your dt and everyone dies. So I guess I’m kinda stuck in limbo between quarantining and not lol.

Exact reason why I haven't purchased fish on a year and a half.

 

[WVNed]

I get my fish at Petco because they are disease free.

Stirring the pot.

 

[CindyKz]

Observe for a month, treat if I see a reason.

 

[shred5]

I used to observe by throwing my new fish in a frag tank in the basement. They would be easy to get out if need be.
I figures they would feel more comfortable and fight off disease better. I always had a treatment tank down their too in case.

Well one day something got through and wiped out most of my fish. Now I treat everything.

I probably got away for 20 years not treating right away... You loose everything once you learn.

With the fish closures and more coming we need to provide the best care for these fish so those trying to shut the hobby down do not have more ammo.

 

[theMeat]

Have been in hobby for around 30 years.
Used to qt everything, now I only qt if fish appears in very bad shape. Even then I will maybe fw dip if it’s a problem where it will help, then it’s qt without any treatment solely for a few days of quiet to recoup before going into display. If there are signs of brook/velvet I would treat first

 

[dantimdad]

So I’ve been keeping Reef tanks since about 1987. Didn’t QT a thing for the first 15 years or so and had issues building up a large and diverse fish population. After that, nominally 2003, I started to QT all fish (though not inverts). Generally I do not treat prophylactically, preferring to just observe and fatten. I’ve found this approach to work quite well and now do have a large and diverse fish population.

I’d actually be curious to see how age/hobby longevity correlates to QT. It is my sense that newer reefers tend to go for the meds quicker than do the more seasoned ones. I wonder if that’s actually true.

I agree. My fish this go around are coming from one source that breeds them so no QT for all of them coming from that source.

Usually though, I put them in observation for a few weeks. If they fatten up and don't break out, they get acclimated and in the DT they go.

I think treating fish is the same as we do humans these days and it's why we have super bugs going around in humans and fish.

If you treat constantly with meds and don't let something build up and immunity, they get a weaker and weaker immune system and the bacteria/viruses build up to be stronger and stronger.

Just my .02 after seeing this trend over the decades.

 

[EmdeReef]

I used to believe observation for 1-2 months would give me enough time to decide if/what treatment was necessary. I’ve seen my share of sick fish in the hobby and aquaculture and thought I’d be able to spot if something was off.

Unfortunately, that approach is not good enough and now every fish gets treated prophylactically.

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

I don't quarantine, and I don't plan on it. Mostly because I purchase fish so infrequently that it's not worth it.

 

[KJoFan]

I voted for treat prophylactically, but I have moved to more of a mix of treat and observe. When I first started this tank, everything got QT'd for a minimum of 6 weeks, with 30 of those days in full copper.

The last fish, a wrasse I moved into the DT only went 2 weeks in full copper and no other meds really. Maybe it's complacency, or maybe it's laziness that I've become less rigid. But, thus far I haven't run into any issues.

If the fish seem active, eating and growing and symptom free I feel ok to move them over before their full 30 days.

 

[Jay Norris]

Been in this hobby for close to 50 yrs. and have never QT my fish, maybe I am really lucky and have never had a major outbreak of any kind, but I also collect a lot of my own fish, or the ones I buy are from a LFS that allows me to observe and buy only very healthy fish that feed on frozen foods. My belief is the less you stress your fish, the better their immune system will be, and the less chance a fish will contract a disease. I also use freshly collected NSW, Live Sand, and only purchase the freshest high quality Live Rock available. If I were to ever decided to start quarantining my family members, I would put them in a QT tank setup similar to my main display tank.

 

[SDK]

All fish get QT and copper at a minimum. All corals get a Bayer dip, and I am in the process of setting up a frag tank to QT them as well. I purchased some zoas last week and a tiny Apstasia appeared on the plug a week after putting in the DT.

I also want my QT tank to be a permanent setup so it's available as a hospital tank in an emergency, and not freshly setup if I decide to QT something more delicate. I'm still working out the details to achieve this, but have a framework in mind...

 

[shred5]

So I’ve been keeping Reef tanks since about 1987. Didn’t QT a thing for the first 15 years or so and had issues building up a large and diverse fish population. After that, nominally 2003, I started to QT all fish (though not inverts). Generally I do not treat prophylactically, preferring to just observe and fatten. I’ve found this approach to work quite well and now do have a large and diverse fish population.

I’d actually be curious to see how age/hobby longevity correlates to QT. It is my sense that newer reefers tend to go for the meds quicker than do the more seasoned ones. I wonder if that’s actually true.

Been in the reef hobby 30 + years since mid 80's, saltwater longer and even longer fresh water.
Probably never quarantined for first 3 rd, then went to observe method for the next 3rd and now I quarantine everything.

 

[SDK]

Been in the reef hobby 30 + years since mid 80's, saltwater longer and even longer fresh water.
Probably never quarantined for first 3 rd, then went to observe method for the next 3rd and now I quarantine everything.

This is me too. Started the FW hobby in the mid 1970's and SW shortly thereafter. I also evolved my methodology in a similar fashion.

If you want to have a conversation about QT in the past vs present day, it needs to be understood how different the hobby was back then, and even up into the 1990's. Many factors, including limited access to good information, a more direct pipeline from the ocean to the home aquarium, and less well developed protocols made QT a much less successful proposition until fairly recently.

Back then, all you had to go by were two hardcover books (neither of which covered QT or meds), your stash of FAMA articles (which to my best recollection, never covered QT or meds in any detail) and what was written on the back panels of the handful of medications available at the LFS.

Fast forward to today. The good news is that there is so much more information available that newer hobbyists and younger people in general take for granted. The downside is the more complicated supply chain, and all of the swapping, trading, etc. makes disease more prevalent than it used to be.

People tend to stick with what works for them, and that is fine if it's working. I personally have tried over the years to evolve with the hobby, and be open minded to changes and new information as it becomes available...

I would one day like to come "full circle" and evolve my methods towards what reefers like Lasse, JDA and PaulB are doing. That being to minimize or eliminate the need for QT. Unfortunately for most of us, "step one" is having a good sized aquarium that has been set up and stable for several years. This puts it in the "long term goal" category for now...

 

[shred5]

This is me too. Started the FW hobby in the mid 1970's and SW shortly thereafter.

If you want to have a conversation about QT in the past vs present day, it needs to be understood how different the hobby was back then, and even up into the 1990's. Many factors, including less access to good information, a more direct pipeline from the ocean to the home aquarium, and less well developed protocols made QT a much less successful proposition.

Back then, all you had to go by were two hardcover books, your stash of FAMA articles and what was written on the back panels of the handful of meds available at the LFS.

Fast forward to today. The good news is that there is so much more information available that newer hobbyists and younger people in general take for granted. The downside is the more complicated supply chain, and all of the swapping, trading etc makes disease more prevalent than it used to be.

People tend to stick with what works for them, and that is fine if it's working. I personally have tried over the years to evolve with the hobby, and be open minded to changes and new information as it becomes available...

Edit: I would actually like to evolve my methods towards what reefers like Lasse, JDA and PaulB are doing, and minimize the need for QT. Unfortunately for most of us, step one is having a good sized aquarium that has been set up and stable for several years. This puts it in the "long term goal" category for now...

I just moved and threw out all my FAMA'S and Saltwater monthly magazines from 80's and 90's. I wish I would not have, so much history in them..

 

[SDK]

I just moved and threw out all my FAMA'S and Saltwater monthly magazines. I wish I would not have, so much history in them..

I have cases of hobby magazines that I rarely look at but can't bring myself to throw out lol.

Somewhere, buried deep, is one of those books I mentioned above. I can't remember the title, but it had two photos that I remember vividly. Rodney Jonklaas holding a hand collected Parrotfish, and Lee Chin Eng's first ever "reef" tank. I would read that book over and over as a kid and dream of scuba diving and having a tank like Lees.

I would also buy a beer for whoever can remember the book title for me...

 

[infinite0180]

Unfortunitely i failed at QTing my fish. I did not prophylactically treat with copper and ich was hiding on a fish for a month. I felt confident the fish was fine and added it to the display tank... now im managing it because i dont have time to yank them and QT again being a new father and all. Maybe once things settle down for me ill try the copper/fallow thing...

 

[shred5]

I have cases of hobby magazines that I rarely look at but can't bring myself to throw out lol.

Somewhere, buried deep, is one of those books I mentioned above. I can't remember the title, but it had two photos that I remember vividly. Rodney Jonklaas holding a hand collected Parrotfish, and Lee Chin Eng's first ever "reef" tank. I would read that book over and over as a kid and dream of scuba diving and having a tank like Lees.

I would also buy a beer for whoever can remember the book title for me...

Is this it:
https://archive.org/details/SaltWaterAquariumFish

 

[SDK]

Is this it:
https://archive.org/details/SaltWaterAquariumFish

THANK YOU!

Getting a chance to look through it brought back many good memories. You can collect that beer anytime!

 

[SDK]

Unfortunitely i failed at QTing my fish. I did not prophylactically treat with copper and ich was hiding on a fish for a month. I felt confident the fish was fine and added it to the display tank... now im managing it because i dont have time to yank them and QT again being a new father and all. Maybe once things settle down for me ill try the copper/fallow thing...

Credit to you for keeping a tank at all as a new father. My only temporary break from the hobby (and my sanity) came when my two kids were born...

 

[Oshengems]

I have never quarantine any of my fish and have not lost any to disease i do feed a lot tho always had a heavy hand and now that I know the consequences of heavy feeding still do to keep aggression down had a crazy tang catch those white spots during a vacation my niece was feeding once a day a skipped a day or 2 but once he got back to regular feeding aggression went down and spots disappeared Within days feeding is golden! Also I did notice that keeps everyone happy and less stress competing for food